Well, that was fun. 478 people signed-up for our inaugural BRAND BRIEFING last night, and by all accounts, it was a total smash. We analysed and contextualised our last six months of SEEDS into three key themes, five cultural shifts, and a whole load of cultural compost. IKYMI we opened this first one up to everyone (as we're nice like that), but all future briefing will only be accessible to those with a BRAND MEMBERSHIP. So, if that sounds like something you or your team would fun useful ...

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SEEDS

The new scripts, still being written by artists, streamers and ordinary men alike, are forging a new kind of voice in culture: one that speaks not in shouts or silences, but in the quiet confidence of those who know that to be gentle is not to be weak.

I’m still reeling from my first trip to Japan. Among many unforgettable experiences, to see Tokyo all lit up at night, up close and personal, triggered something deep in my Gen X sci-fi nerd soul. For someone who’s grown up on Blade Runner, William Gibson and 2000AD, the neon sprawl and kanji characters are kind of like a musical chord that echoes throughout every idea of what “the future” was meant to be. 

This largely forgotten recording had been in the Protein archive until Joe Muggs sowed We’ve Never Needed Sci-Fi More in SEED CLUB a few weeks back, which prompted me to dig it out. So, 29 years later, it feels appropriate to dust it off and finally publish it. Enjoy.

A round-up of what music and podcasts SEED CLUB is listening to right now...

How the awkward and the profound collide to shape culture. Cringe is a kind of enigmatic superpower. It’s uncomfortable, sure – but not inherently bad. In some cases, it even brushes up against the sublime. As with many so-called opposites (see the horseshoe theory), sometimes the only real difference between them is timing.

To celebrate the release of their new book — Other Internet 2018-2024 – we hosted a collaborative workshop led by Toby Shorin, Laura Lotti and Sam Hart about making sense of technologies that are constantly remaking us.

The concept of “wellness” has evolved into a massive industry worth billions, and yet beneath the glossy veneer lies an ironic reality: the pursuit of wellness is making people unwell. So, we ask, "if you’re not biohacking your way to peak performance, are you even trying?"

From ironic memes to economic doomerism, recession indicators have become a cultural language of their own — eloquently simplified by one of our SEED CLUB members as "bumps not lines."

On the topic of SEED CLUB, here's what's been germinating in our digital garden in this month. If you'd like to plant some SEEDS of your own and get paid to have them featured on Protein XYZ as well as collaborate with Protein AGENCY on client projects, apply here:

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Recognising the 5th anniversary of the COVID outbreak, we thought we'd revisit our "What Are You Really Going To Change?" report to see if anything really did change. In short, it didn't. You can read some of the key slides below or the full report here to decide for yourself.